Interests:Protecting our Ocean, Environmental Education,
Having fun and Living Well

Posted 20 November 2008 - 10:19 PM

Just wondering if I had missed the release of Alex's DVD. Has anybody seen the place to purchase? I got lost on Alex's website looking at all the images. Maybe I missed it. I'd appreciate any help, Santa is waiting.....

We're just trying to test the NTSC version (which involves posting one to the States and waiting for someone to watch it). The PAL one is ready and we may make it available from today! But we're trying to wait for both to be right until we make them available. An important element of the DVD is colour - and we want people to be able to watch on their TV (not just their laptop - where the colours can look a bit flatter) - so we want to discourage people in the States getting the PAL version, even though they will be able to play them on their laptop.

Interests:Protecting our Ocean, Environmental Education,
Having fun and Living Well

Posted 21 November 2008 - 08:06 AM

Thanks for the update Alex, we'll be patient. I'm assuming you have someone on this side of the pond reviewing it for you. If not I'd be happy to volunteer but you'd probably get it to the east coast faster, Maybe some of the video pros would be better judges of the color quality. Good luck with it, it's a great idea for us "visual learners".

Hey Bruce, my wife started getting the stuff she wanted and wrapping it up and putting it under the tree to her from Santa. I figured I'd try it this year.
Cheers!
Steve

I've been chomping at the bit to get one, too, Alex! But I do understand you wanting to get it just right before release...just please let us all know as soon as it can be ordered!!

Bruce Yateswww.UnderwaterReflections.com
Canon 5DMkII in Aquatica, 1DsMkII in Seacam, G15 in RecSea...Inon Z240's...too many lenses"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a damned fool about it." WC Fields

Geez, that Alex fella is such a pre...?, purr...?, perfeckshun photo taking fella. No wonder he wins so many prizes. . . .

Thanks for the update Alex, we'll be patient. I'm assuming you have someone on this side of the pond reviewing it for you. If not I'd be happy to volunteer but you'd probably get it to the east coast faster, Maybe some of the video pros would be better judges of the color quality. Good luck with it, it's a great idea for us "visual learners".

Great ideas coming from your direction Big Stevie. . . . We now need a more 'pocket friendly' visual learning device for us 'visual learners' who can't yet do Elements/Lightroom without constant tinkering...

Hey Bruce, my wife started getting the stuff she wanted and wrapping it up and putting it under the tree to her from Santa. I figured I'd try it this year. Cheers!Steve

Stevie, my wife gave me an early X-mas present this year. . . . she left! Now all the prezzies are mine. . .

Today was my first day out with the filter since I picked it up at DEMA from Alex. OH MY GOD!!!!!! I got incredible results under less than perfect conditions. (ho-hum subject matter, not great viz and sometimes overcast conditions.) Took three dives to really sort it out but I am SO hooked! I can't wait to get back out again! Looking forward to seeing the video.

I am off to the Red Sea on Thursday am. So I have made the DVD available to buy on the Magic Website. The PAL version is available now and will ship as soon as ordered. The NTSC version seems OK. But we are waiting to hear that they work on a variety of NTSC TVs and DVD players from the several people who we've sent them to. If all is OK, as we anticipate it will be, this will ship as soon as we have confirmation.

So I guess you could say we are on soft opening. The DVD costs £15 GBP, which is $23 USD and €18 at today's exchange rates. If any Wetpixel Admins are reading this - this is not front page news yet!

The price is considerably cheaper than other instructional DVDs for UW video and stills (including Photoshop) that are on the market and I'd like to make the point that "Shooting Magic" is cheaper because it is designed to help you get the most out of our product, which viewers will have either already bought or are considering buying. The total content time is 90 minutes.

We thought about it, but decided against it as the techniques are quite different from in tropical waters (long exposures etc). Also far less people use this filter, and most who do are experienced photogs using it as a tool for getting the results they want already - and not in the market for an instructional vid! Plus our DVD is already pretty full at 90 minutes and a 2 disc set would have put the costs up considerably.

Interests:Protecting our Ocean, Environmental Education,
Having fun and Living Well

Posted 15 December 2008 - 07:26 AM

Hi all,Alex mailed me a copy of the new Magic Filters DVD to see if it played well on the US format. My review is on the front page. The short version; It's a beautiful thing. It looks really good on the home player and exceptional on the Blu-ray player.

Hey There Steve
I just ordered my DVD, hope it gets here soon, going back to Bonaire in a couple of weeks and want to give the Magic Filter a try. I bought the blue water and green water filter last summer. The green water works pretty well and I can't wait to try the blue water. Thanks for the review.
Mike

Interests:Protecting our Ocean, Environmental Education,
Having fun and Living Well

Posted 15 December 2008 - 08:40 PM

Thanks Guys!
I'm hoping to try mine out in Cayman next month. When you get the DVD be sure to watch both the P&S and the DSLR chapters. Great stuff in both. I'm thinking of putting a filter on my wife's P&S Canon and carrying it in my BC pocket just for fun.
Cheers,
Steve

Interests:Protecting our Ocean, Environmental Education,
Having fun and Living Well

Posted 16 December 2008 - 07:41 AM

At the risk of hubris, is the DVD entertaining enough for experienced (-ish) Magickers to justify getting a copy?

Hi Tim,That's a great question and one I'm not sure I can answer for you. I guess it would depend on how happy you are with your filter images. For me there is always something else to learn and God is in the details. From an entertainment standpoint I had fun watching it (5 times now) and have shown segments to my wife and even non-diver photography friends to share what we do when shooting. They liked the shipwreck sequences and how the light and color changes with sun angle. I also think it would be very useful for experienced folks who don't get to shoot all the time to take along on a dive trip as a refresher. For 15 pounds it's hard to go too far wrong. Maybe Santa can bring you a copy. Have fun,Steve

Hi Tim,That's a great question and one I'm not sure I can answer for you. I guess it would depend on how happy you are with your filter images. For me there is always something else to learn and God is in the details. From an entertainment standpoint I had fun watching it (5 times now) and have shown segments to my wife and even non-diver photography friends to share what we do when shooting. They liked the shipwreck sequences and how the light and color changes with sun angle. I also think it would be very useful for experienced folks who don't get to shoot all the time to take along on a dive trip as a refresher. For 15 pounds it's hard to go too far wrong. Maybe Santa can bring you a copy. Have fun,Steve

he,he....5 times, I'm sure if I come over to your place the first thing you'll want to do is show me your Super 8's of the kids. Seriously though, I've watched the video for Alex as well. I think it's great, but definitely aimed more for the new or potential user. As Steve says, there's always something to learn, especially from guys like Alex, though if you've used the Magic Filter a lot you'll find it more of dive video with a few pointers thrown in.